How many of ya all guys where fool by Bruce Arena line up against portugal on wc 2002?? Damarcus Beasley and Landon Donovan on a world cup game?? On that historic morning my emotions were running high and I was still upset about the game we lost against Honduras at home 3-0 ....The only thing that went thru my mind was: Bruce What are you doing?? Are you crazy?? Few minutes later LANDON DONOVAN score the first goal and the fans mute with incredulity USA SCORE!!!! So be honest and answer like real men
first, you must not have been paying much attention on that historic morning son... donovan didn't score the first goal. umm, that would have been johnny obrien....
Give the guy a break. Whip is a great USMNT fan, and though Donovan didn't score that day, he sure as hell was the last U.S. player to touch the ball before it went into the back of the net. to answer the question: Every game Mathis wasn't in the first 11 I cursed at the screen. He then went on to earn 1 million dollars for knowing in advance that things like that would work.
Dude, if the game was so important to you, how come you don't know who scored when and how? I can just close my eyes and see all of the goals from that match, and I bet just about everybody else here can too.
personally i was glad that he started landon and damarcus. two of my favorite players. i was just bummed that DMB was hurt and couldn't play more than he did.
I was at the Holland tune-up match just before the boys left for Korea. It was then and there that I realized that not only did Run DMB deserve to be on the way to Korea, I was hoping he would get the start. He gave the Dutch defense fits that day. I'd like to think that Bruce and I saw the same thing that day... As for Donovan starting, I thought that was a no brainer. He really added a sparkle of creativity to every game I saw him play prior to that occasion. The gameday decisions that really surprised me were benching Mathis, playing HeyDude at left back, and resting Reyna even though he probably could have played through the injury. Jarrett
Every time I saw Heydude on the field I cringed. And clearly, I was wrong as hell. Or at least not completely right, tanks got.
I think we all knew that Donovan was going to be starting. Even Segroves knew McBride was going to be starting. We knew we didn't have Reyna, so JOB was clearly starting in the midfield. We knew we didn't have Armas, so Pablo was going to start in the midfield. We knew the back two in the center was going to be Pope and Agoos, despite all the desires to the contrary regarding Agoos. Right mid - I don't recall who started but I thought it was Stewart. So it wasn't much of a shocker. So the positions that were up for grabs in my mind: Lewis v. Beasley at left mid - Everyone here loved Beasley because Lewis wasn't playing to the top of his game at the time. Now everyone is hating a bit on Beasley and the inadequacies in his game becuase Lewis is playing lights out. Regardless, this was a pleasant surprise, but nothing earth shattering based on DMP's play against Holland. Right Back - Sanneh didn't show particularly well prior to the World Cup. But Bruce stuck with him, and it paid off. With Dolo out, I really didn't think there were too many options for Bruce here. Sanneh's play surprised me more than anyone. He raised his game so much for the World Cup. So a little bit of a surprise. Left Back - Hejdude - No one had a clue. Anyone who claims that they did is either Bruce Arena, Hejdude himself or a big fat liar. With regards to who started, I think it was more a result of injuries than anything else. We didn't have too many options. Left back was a shock, but DMB v. Lewis, Sanneh at RB those weren't much of a shock. So I think for the most part the lineup was pretty cut and dry. We really didn't know the extent of the injuries thoguh prior to the game. Reyna if I recall was still on the bubble injury wise as far as we all knew. But obviously, he wasn't ready yet, otherwise he would have played. So all in all, Beasely and DMP weren't that big of a surprise.
3-2. You held almost a year long grudge over a World Cup Qualifier? Dedicated. I completely forgot about that game after we beat Jamaica 2-1 and got in thanks to T&T.
That was the 2nd goal, not the first. And having gone to the USA vs. Uruguay game, I was very happy to see DMB playing. He gave them fits.
First a bit off topic. I got to see the Holland/US game at Foxboro. It was an absolutely great game to watch. Even though it was a friendly, you could see what the US really had for a team. It made me very confident going against Portugal. Secondly, There is a very large Portugeese population in this area. I took heat for months. 5-0, 6-0 was the common margin of victory for Portugal. Game day I had a house full along with my son in Boulder. He called every time the US scored and we had two large parties "wassupin" and "goooooooal" ing each other. It was heavenly. My buddy and I did make it a point to drive through the Portugeese districts waving old glory and making lots of noise. Just in time to see them all off to work. Finally answering the initial question. I had full conficdence in Arena and the staff's capabilities and game plans.